Cause we _know_ the OS. Dang, I'm about 9% of the way through a personal Linux kernel code audit, all by myself. Then I'll start on "lilo" and then I think I'll hit "init". Before I'm dead I might get to "ls". I don't even have the time to call any support. And to think, Windows, that Intuitive User Experience, requires tech suppport? Ha!
While I'd admit that QA in professional software is lacking, there are definately source code reviews in an OS product group. Every line of code is looked at, even if only briefly. The risk of the exploit being detected and erased before a release is too great for the Microsoft interview process (grueling, trust me) to be worthwhile.
And when the code for "Netscape Engineers are Weenies" got in there, the code reviewers all had a good belly laugh and said, "let's leave that in there!" Oh, wait, sorry, that was for IIS, which is NOT part of the OS...
Games are supposed to be fun. War is not supposed to be fun.
Can you see a difference?
If I want fun, I play a game. If I want to be shot and die horribly... well, I don't, but I'd go to war, NOT play a game.
So what do we call going to the movies? For some movies, it's not quite fun, and it's not quite getting shot and dying horribly (except in certain parts of town).
OTOH, I stare death in the face on the freeways every day. And _he_ blinks first. So far.
The Constitution is a dead letter that is occasionally trotted out, looked at, oohed and aaahhed at nostalgically, then put away because it gets in the way of what the Global Democratic-Corporate State really wants.
This is NOT a SPAM! Buy shares in the worlds largest prison network! With the adoption of the WIPO Treaty there will be enormous need for prisons to keep violators in while they await speedy trials, which could take years to come about!
Why bother with niceties? Just put them in front of a military tribunal, give 'em a fair trial, then shoot 'em! Comparisons with USSR 1938 Show Trials not permitted.
Besdies, a remote control car starter just sounds like a *really* bad idea. No benefit, all kinds of possible security breaches. You want to make your car easier to steal for no good reason?
Next thing you know, he'll want to remote-start it over the internet (preferably wireless). Say, hook it up to the computer, and hook up the coffee pot, and start the car 25 minutes (configurable) after his coffee maker finishes. Then wonder in amazement when some haxorz 0wn his car!
What Katz doesn't understand is that for some people don't want to be a part of these "liberated" communities that he is so happy about. What he calls expression, I call pornography. And where he sees discussion, all too often all I see is pointless drivel aimed at the absolute lowest common denominator.
Absolutely right. Everybody discriminates. When a panhandler comes up to you to ask for money, do you just ignore him, or try to engage in a discussion of Mises' _Human Action_ with him, to tell him why you are about to deny his request? I don't want to converse with just anybody from an uneducated, mindless rabble. I want to converse with...Slashdot!
You made the parent's point very well - because basketball is socially acceptable, i.e., people approve of you playing it and will spend money to see you do it, it's okay.
Thank you very much. BTW, a socially unacceptable activity, is, well, socially unacceptable. I would put more stock in what is socially acceptable or unacceptable if our society were civilized.
Additionally, if someone has an addiction, can't they write a book, go on the talk show circuit, make a bundle, get lots of attention and fanfare, and make it acceptable, if not downright cool, to have that addiction? That's America fer ya!
The real truth of the matter is that gaming is different from currently acceptable social norms, therefore dedicating your life to gaming is an addiction, which carries negative connotations. Dedicate your life to a social norm and you are just driven to be the best; a real winner!
For some reason, Michael Jordan fills arenas with people who want to see him do his thing (basketball, for those of you on a 16-year gaming binge). And others have mentioned how some people's addictions (such as work) are actually creative, in that something is created that other people value or appreciate.
Are there gamers' conventions where crowds gather appreciatively to watch the best compete? Is there a potential market for that? If so, there is some entertainment generated that _others_ value, and you could make a living off it. Imagine, if you could make a living off of your legal addiction, that would be sweet.
Since I don't think that will happen (I have been wrong before), I think gaming, in lieu of other typical human activities (social life, family life), is time best minimized. It's like junk food. It tastes good, but don't make it your staple. The staples are pretty well understood: family, friendships, a variety of activities: physical, intellectual, spiritual, social.
Unless when you stopped playing the game(s), you could think of nothing else for days on end, but the game, and you lost sleep, paced endlessly, and basically had your entire life ruined for weeks, not able to perform normal functions, in a pain that lasted to some degree at least 6 months or more, if not for ever, then you weren't addicted.
How about a thread commenting our addiction to slashdot?
I think "addiction to slashdot" is a nice way of saying "masochistic tendencies". How about setting Opera to refresh every 10 minutes, then getting a rush when a new article shows up? Is that a problem? Oh, bye, here comes my boss!
I remember when I used to run a BBS, one of the taglines floating around was, "It's only a Hobby. It's only a Hobby. It's only a Hobby... " But I knew many people that gaming was (and for some still is) there life.
When the welfare rolls swell with "gaming junkies", I'll get worried. And when the company offers a benefit that includes "gaming addiction counseling" (call 1-800-FRAG-ONE), we'll know this is mainstream.
There's a vast distinction between a game causing an addiction and a person being predisposed to becoming addicted. I can become addicted to any repetitive actitivity; it doesn't matter whether it's playing Civ3 (or EQ) or jogging.
So where are all the people addicted to scrubbing sidewalks clean? Maybe I missed them.
ut the world isn't all bad. All these stories about narrowing rights and such can be kind of depressing. I'd like to see Slashdot (and Slashdotters) post more of the non-depressing stuff. There's a lot of good out there too.
Hey, I'd like to be an optimist, but I don't I could do it.
I am an AT&T cable modem customer and have had the bad fortune of being transferred from @Home to AT&T's own ISP.
They suck massively.
1) Their support are not answering the phone
I didn't even bother trying...
2) My IP address that has been static since I signed up over a year ago has suddenly changed and it appears that static addressing in any form has gone up in smoke. This screws anyone relying on a static IP.
This is a real bummer. Although, I am running OpenBSD as my firewall, and I'll have to set up a cron job to mail out "today's IP Addr" to all interested parties.
3) They have been playing fast and loose with the service agreement (that I signed), but instituting an AUP (that I didn't sign)that directly contradicts it.
4) Their DNS service has been very erratic
Absolutely. It was friggin' incredible! Lucky for me, I had slashdot.org in my hosts file.
I agree completely. I haven't had @home in over a year now (now I'm on broadslate sdsl... great support, very reliable, but you'll pay for it since it's biz class and they only want businesses). Anyway, when I was on @Home, I got shit for support from @Home, they would go over my tcp/ip settings to check why I had no hardware signal, they would try to say it was my computer with a problem when I had network connectivity problems where I could ping the gateway and 1 hop past, but nothing after that... clearly on their end. I could send AT&T an e-mail, they would send someone to my house the next day, verify that I was correct, call @home themselves and force them to fix it. I'm all for at&t... fuck @home, they deserve to lose out, they were a half assed piece of crap company.
But, man, I had a static IP with @home, and my computer name was in the DNS. Now with AT&T, I have DHCP. Crap! Any Ideas? Anyone? Bueller? I do leave the box on always, should I just snag my DHCP-provided IP address and run with it?
However, it's hard to be patriotic knowing that my private e-mail could be read, my phone could be tapped (without a warrant), if my computer is tapped, the anti-virus companies won't help me, my house could be searched (again, without a warrant), and I could be considered a terrorist and thrown in jail for pointing out a security flaw. Thank god i'm not a middle-eastern American, or I might be locked up without a trial.
My grandmother told me stories of the KGB taking neighbors away in the middle of the night, never to be seen again. We're getting there. At least we'll live longer in the Gulags, since we're so fat.
And get arrested for being a terrorist sympathizer
Well, the Founding Fathers _were_ traitors. They just had the nerves and the guns to get away with it. The Conferdate States of America had the nerves, but not the guns, so they failed.
Slashdot Mirror
Cause we _know_ the OS. Dang, I'm about 9% of the way through a personal Linux kernel code audit, all by myself. Then I'll start on "lilo" and then I think I'll hit "init". Before I'm dead I might get to "ls". I don't even have the time to call any support. And to think, Windows, that Intuitive User Experience, requires tech suppport? Ha!
So, are those who install Outlook aiding and abetting Terrorism? It sure is a huge hole in the system...
And when the code for "Netscape Engineers are Weenies" got in there, the code reviewers all had a good belly laugh and said, "let's leave that in there!" Oh, wait, sorry, that was for IIS, which is NOT part of the OS...
Howza bout runnin' yer fat butt down to the local inner city? It don't get no mo real than dat!
Can you see a difference?
If I want fun, I play a game. If I want to be shot and die horribly... well, I don't, but I'd go to war, NOT play a game.
So what do we call going to the movies? For some movies, it's not quite fun, and it's not quite getting shot and dying horribly (except in certain parts of town).
OTOH, I stare death in the face on the freeways every day. And _he_ blinks first. So far.
I agree, what a bunch of loosers!
The Constitution is a dead letter that is occasionally trotted out, looked at, oohed and aaahhed at nostalgically, then put away because it gets in the way of what the Global Democratic-Corporate State really wants.
Why bother with niceties? Just put them in front of a military tribunal, give 'em a fair trial, then shoot 'em! Comparisons with USSR 1938 Show Trials not permitted.
McDonald's originally was a Taxidermist, and they're doing just fine.
Next thing you know, he'll want to remote-start it over the internet (preferably wireless). Say, hook it up to the computer, and hook up the coffee pot, and start the car 25 minutes (configurable) after his coffee maker finishes. Then wonder in amazement when some haxorz 0wn his car!
Absolutely right. Everybody discriminates. When a panhandler comes up to you to ask for money, do you just ignore him, or try to engage in a discussion of Mises' _Human Action_ with him, to tell him why you are about to deny his request? I don't want to converse with just anybody from an uneducated, mindless rabble. I want to converse with...Slashdot!
Thank you very much. BTW, a socially unacceptable activity, is, well, socially unacceptable. I would put more stock in what is socially acceptable or unacceptable if our society were civilized.
Additionally, if someone has an addiction, can't they write a book, go on the talk show circuit, make a bundle, get lots of attention and fanfare, and make it acceptable, if not downright cool, to have that addiction? That's America fer ya!
For some reason, Michael Jordan fills arenas with people who want to see him do his thing (basketball, for those of you on a 16-year gaming binge). And others have mentioned how some people's addictions (such as work) are actually creative, in that something is created that other people value or appreciate.
Are there gamers' conventions where crowds gather appreciatively to watch the best compete? Is there a potential market for that? If so, there is some entertainment generated that _others_ value, and you could make a living off it. Imagine, if you could make a living off of your legal addiction, that would be sweet.
Since I don't think that will happen (I have been wrong before), I think gaming, in lieu of other typical human activities (social life, family life), is time best minimized. It's like junk food. It tastes good, but don't make it your staple. The staples are pretty well understood: family, friendships, a variety of activities: physical, intellectual, spiritual, social.
I can finish a game in Freecell in 33 seconds (on average; the tough ones go up to
Doesn't sound like addiction; sounds like love.
I think "addiction to slashdot" is a nice way of saying "masochistic tendencies". How about setting Opera to refresh every 10 minutes, then getting a rush when a new article shows up? Is that a problem? Oh, bye, here comes my boss!
When the welfare rolls swell with "gaming junkies", I'll get worried. And when the company offers a benefit that includes "gaming addiction counseling" (call 1-800-FRAG-ONE), we'll know this is mainstream.
So where are all the people addicted to scrubbing sidewalks clean? Maybe I missed them.
Hey, I'd like to be an optimist, but I don't I could do it.
They suck massively.
1) Their support are not answering the phone
I didn't even bother trying...
2) My IP address that has been static since I signed up over a year ago has suddenly changed and it appears that static addressing in any form has gone up in smoke. This screws anyone relying on a static IP.
This is a real bummer. Although, I am running OpenBSD as my firewall, and I'll have to set up a cron job to mail out "today's IP Addr" to all interested parties.
3) They have been playing fast and loose with the service agreement (that I signed), but instituting an AUP (that I didn't sign)that directly contradicts it.
4) Their DNS service has been very erratic
Absolutely. It was friggin' incredible! Lucky for me, I had slashdot.org in my hosts file.
But, man, I had a static IP with @home, and my computer name was in the DNS. Now with AT&T, I have DHCP. Crap! Any Ideas? Anyone? Bueller? I do leave the box on always, should I just snag my DHCP-provided IP address and run with it?
My grandmother told me stories of the KGB taking neighbors away in the middle of the night, never to be seen again. We're getting there. At least we'll live longer in the Gulags, since we're so fat.
Well, the Founding Fathers _were_ traitors. They just had the nerves and the guns to get away with it. The Conferdate States of America had the nerves, but not the guns, so they failed.
Got any ideas? My employer sucks it out of my check before I even see it. What a scam! I suppose I could take 25 deductions on my W-4...
Outlaws _and_ the State, but perhaps I repeat myself.